


The Scrapbook

by SonezakiRin



Category: New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-05
Updated: 2019-08-05
Packaged: 2020-08-10 00:08:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,880
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20126119
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SonezakiRin/pseuds/SonezakiRin
Summary: It's that time of year again, spring cleaning. Kokichi has never been much of a clean person but Kiibo had always insisted on him being more organized....not much of a habit that he had picked up on but he still tried nonetheless.Kokichi is cleaning the house with the assistance of his friend Rantaro since Kiibo is not currently home to help out. During his cleaning endeavors, Kokichi discovers a book that was on top of a bookshelf that maps out some of the key points in his and Kiibo's relationship. Wouldn't it be nice to go down memory lane?





	The Scrapbook

**Author's Note:**

> I originally posted this fic on March 22nd, 2017, however I have since deleted it due to all the mistakes that it contained and I was also just unhappy with it. This is a revised version of said fic though I'm certain that it still leaves much to be desired. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy it nonetheless.

It was that time of year again, spring cleaning. Kokichi was as messy as a person could get, but Kiibo had tried multiple times in the past to get him into the habit of being more tidy and take better care of himself. With his continuous efforts, Kokichi only grew to be about 30% cleaner, but to Kiibo, that was better than nothing. It's not that Kokichi preferred a messy house over a tidy one, but for him it was easier to locate things around the house amidst the mess that he himself had created.

Regardless of whether Kokichi liked it or not, it was now once again Kiibo’s favorite time of the year,spring cleaning. This was partially because even if Kokichi did not want to partake in such activities, Kiibo would anyways. The idea of Kiibo going through his stuff and then accidentally misplacing them was enough to get the latter moving. Kokichi didn’t know a whole lot about cleaning things the _right _way so it was all very difficult for him the first couple of times that Kiibo had tried to show him the ‘proper’ way of doing things.

-

Kokichi groaned as he stretched his fingers out as far as he could, attempting to reach a box that was on top of the bookshelf. Kiibo wasn’t around at the moment so he couldn’t ask the other to help him out. Regardless, there was no way he would actually admit to his partner that he was too short to reach something in the house. His pride was just too great for that, and he knew that Kiibo would tease him for it before helping.

“Hey shorty, need some help?” The purple haired male internally screamed at the top of his lungs as he was suddenly reminded of the fact that Rantaro had come over to help him with his cleaning. 

That's just how chaotic the current state of the house was in.

Kokichi looked down from his spot on the chair and glared at his friend. Man, if looks could kill. “No Rantarhoe I don’t need your assistance." The words themselves appeared hostile enough, but the newfound flush on Kokichi's face gave away how embarrassed he truly felt towards the call out. He huffed, rolling his eyes and turning around to try out a new tactic in getting the box. Not having been fazed by the remark and having grown long accustomed to Kokichi's antics, Rantaro crossed his arms and looked up at the other with an amused smile, waiting for things to go wrong.

The shorter male crouched down and grabbed the ends of the chair, scooting it as close to the bookshelf as he could. Rantaro tried to offer his assistance once again, seeing the evident struggle, but Kokichi’s pride was still too great as he quickly told Rantaro to kindly shut up. Kokichi stood up as close to the edge of the chair that he could without falling off. He paused for a moment, mentally debating over whether or not he _ could _use Rantaro's assistance, but once again decided against it. The amount of mental preparation he had didn't stop him from growing annoyed when a faint snicker could be heard down below at the sight of Kokichi standing up on his tippy toes. It was embarrassing, yes, but there was no way Kokichi was going to ask for help.

He pressed his body against the bookshelf and raised his arms in an attempt to reach the box once again. Some of the spines from the books on the lower shelves were digging into him, which caused him to feel slight pain. However, Kokichi stuck through it because he knew he would never hear the end of it if Kiibo had found out that he did not actually clean the entire house while he was gone. 

Almost as if it was a gift from God, Kokichi’s fingertips were finally able to touch the box. He bursting with excitement at his triumph which in turn startled the green haired male significantly. Kokichi didn’t pay attention to the half-assed lecture which ensued from Rantaro about how he should consider other people’s emotions when ‘pulling stunts such as that one.’ Instead, Kokichi chose to relish in the fact that he was finally able to reach the box. He tried to pull the box close to himself as best as he could with his fingers, being able to slowly drag the box over to him with each repeated motion.

When the box was finally within his grasp, Kokichi grabbed it enthusiastically and pulled it towards his chest. “I got it!” He exclaimed,his excitement being short lived when he realized that he was starting to fall backwards.

‘_Oh yeah _ ’ he thought to himself. ‘_I was on my tippy toes and now I’ve just thrown myself back_.’ It felt almost like slow motion to him although he wasn’t sure why that was. Perhaps it was the adrenaline? All he remembered was hearing Rantaro abruptly stop his lecture and instead let out a surprised yelp, making sure to catch the shorter male before he fell to the ground.

“A-Ahh don’t worry Kokichi. I got you,” Rantaro chuckled nervously but stopped when he saw Kokichi in an almost daze type of state. He furrowed his brows and attempted to shake the other in his arms. “Kokichi? Hey, Kokichi! You ok?”

As if on cue, Kokichi rapidly blinked his eyes a few times until he had been brought back to his senses. “Y-Yeah! I’m fine!” He huffed, prying himself out of the others arms. “Thanks for the help I suppose.” He averted his gaze from the other and quickly exited the room, the aforementioned box still being held firmly against his chest. Kokichi felt rather embarrassed that his little slip up had even occurred in the first place and would rather not be teased about it this time. 

Rantaro let out yet another laugh at the sight. The grumpy ‘thanks’ that he was given was probably as nice as Kokichi was going to be with him. It was obvious by the look on Kokichi’s face that he was mortified by what had happened so he decided to drop the subject for the time being. The teasing could be saved for later afterall. He grabbed the chair and started to trail after Kokichi with it. The reason for doing so was definitely not because he assumed the smaller male might need it with another tall piece of furniture in the future. 

Rantaro walked into the living room to find that Kokichi was already impatiently rummaging through the box that was on the bookshelf. ‘_Must not be anything all that special if it had accumulated that much dust' _he thought to himself. 

Suddenly, Rantaro noticed that Kokichi’s face broke out into a wide smile at the contents of the box. “Rantaro! You can put the chair down somewhere. We’re going to take a break!” He cheered, plopping himself down on the couch with his legs crossed as he placed the box in front of himself.

Rantaro furrowed his brows together but did as he was instructed, leaving the chair beside the couch. He took a seat next to Kokichi and tried to take a look inside the box himself. “What’s in the box?” Rantaro had to admit that his curiosity had been piqued since Kokichi had rarely shown much enthusiasm in most things unless said thing involved Kiibo. Though, knowing his friend, Rantaro was sure that Kokichi hadn’t even noticed that himself.

“Look!” The genuine happiness in Kokichi’s voice was both endearing but also concerning to Rantaro. He continued to watch as Kokichi finished rummaging through the box and took out a beautifully decorated purple and blue book. Or rather- “It’s a scrapbook that Kiibo and I made of our relationship!” The smile on Kokichi’s face was as wide as ever, evident enough by the small chuckles that escaped his lips. The book itself was being hugged close to Kokichi’s chest. It clearly was something that was very dear to him which only made Rantaro all the more curious as to why it was left in storage for so long. Though, he was pretty sure he already knew the answer to that. 

“Really? Kiibo never told me about that,” Rantaro commented, eyeing the other strangely.

Kokichi rolled his eyes but still had that cheeky grin plastered on his face. “Well duh! Kiibo has always been reserved about our relationship. Or rather, he was never a big fan of showing it off. I’m not even sure why he’s like that -- I mean we _are_ married,” he huffed at the thought**,** having a pained expression on his face before shaking it off, replacing it with the same smile as before, and placing the book on his lap. “Anyways! I’ll explain every picture here for you since you probably don’t know the stories behind them!” He sounded rather confident in his declaration and began to flip through the pages while Rantaro watched intently, not having said a word, but rather his mind was full of many questions.

The first picture that Kokichi had pointed to was a photo that Kokichi himself had taken with his phone. He was on Kiibo’s back, most likely having caught him by surprise since the white haired male looked shocked and slightly uncomfortable at having the other on his back. Kokichi was smiling brightly at the camera and throwing up a peace sign. They seemed to have been in the courtyard of their old school as well and the flowers were blooming nicely in the background.

“I took this one when I first met Kiibo. I thought he was so cool! He was that transfer kid who just so happened to be in my class and apparently he was like this robotics genius! I thought he would be able to help me dominate the world!” Kokichi laughed at the thought. “Of course, I never did get to do that. I’m twenty eight now and I never got to rule over anything.”

“Didn’t Kiibo say to you once that you ruled his world?” Rantaro mused, smirking when he saw his friends face heat up.

“Sh-Shut up!” He whined, shaking his head in hopes that his blush would go away. “A-Anyways. I totally ran after him after school and jumped on his back to take this picture. He was so scared and confused. I’m surprised he didn’t file a restraining order against me.” Now it was time for both Kokichi and Rantaro to laugh at that statement.

“Maybe he always thought you were kind of cute ever since he first laid eyes on you?” Rantaro asked innocently which earned him a small nudge from the other. Kokichi had always known that Rantaro was a big fan of his relationship with Kiibo. If anything, Kokichi was surprised that the other hadn’t asked him any questions about his relationship in a while. Even after getting married, Rantaro was as pesky as ever when it came to him and Kiibo but lately it seemed like that wasn’t the case. He wondered why that was. 

Kokichi turned the page to see a photobooth picture of him and Kiibo. His heart almost melted at the photos since he had long forgotten about them. On the first frame, Kokichi and Kiibo were pulling each other’s faces. They were just being silly. They were originally the best of friends before Kokichi had asked Kiibo to go out with him. On the second one, it was him kissing Kiibo on the cheek while the white haired male looked flushed from head to toe. On the third one, it was Kiibo kissing Kokichi’s cheek while the former supreme ruler looked like he was having the time of his life. The cheeky grin was ever so present in that photo. On the last one, both boys were exchanging a small kiss and they both looked very flustered and shy in the photo.

“This is from when Kiibo and I had our first kiss! We didn’t know what to do for the last photo and well, I figured ‘what’s the worst that could happen?**’** I never expected myself to look so shy in this photo though it really is unattractive of me!” He whined, covering his face in embarrassment.

“No, rather, you look like you’re the happiest person in the world. Why would you look bad?” Rantaro asked, a gentle smile on his face. It had been a long time since Kokichi had looked so -- well, happy. Even if it would be short-lived, he was glad to be witnessing it.

The look that Rantaro had received from the other could only be described as one of disbelief. “Well _ duh _. I’m only the happiest guy ever when I’m with Kiibo! He makes my heart do that stupid flip thing and he’s always been so kind to me. He loves me so much and he’s just the best friend I ever had!” Kokichi gushed, covering his cheeks with his hands. 

Rantaro laughed and motioned for Kokichi to continue. The male nodded and flipped through some more pages, explaining each and every one of them to his friend. He then stopped on one page in particular, the fondness of the memory was evident on his face. “This one right here is when I asked Kiibo to marry me. You better believe he was a crying mess when I asked him. He looked so happy. I had Kaede spy on us and take some pictures when it happened.” He spoke softly as the memories came back to him. 

One of the photos at the bottom of the page stood out which only prompted Rantaro to ask about it. It wasn’t anything too special or out of the ordinary. It was a simple photo of Kokichi slipping the ring on Kiibo’s finger, but it was one of those photos that constituted as a photo that conveys a thousand words. “This photo in particular was his favorite out of all the ones here because we both looked liked the happiest pair of idiots in the world. For me, personally, this was the one time I felt like I had conquered the whole world.”

“Just like you wanted, right?”

“Yeah…” Kokichi trailed off, a loving smile on his face. “I didn’t care about ruling the world after marrying Kiibo because I realized that he’s all I need in my life. Not all the riches or all the subordinates I could ask for, just him.” Rantaro smiled warmly at the confession. Kokichi rarely ever spilled his heart out. He had always claimed that it was a ‘loser’ thing to do. 

They continued to talk about many of the pages that were there. The smile that was on Kokichi’s face had never once faltered throughout their discussion. To him, it felt like he was reliving his relationship with Kiibo from the beginning. All the emotions that he had felt back then during the time the photos were taken seemed to be coming back to him. It was hard to not feel so warm on the inside while looking at them. 

Kokichi’s smile, however, soon faded when he reached the last page, and Rantaro’s face paled at the sight of it. “A-Ahh, Kokichi are you-”

“Why is this here?” Kokichi mumbled, his hands were beginning to shake as they carefully traced down the page, gripping on it aggressively. “Why would someone put this in here?!” His anger was growing as he adjusted his hold on the page to rip it.

“H-Hey don’t do that!” Rantaro reached over and held Kokichi’s hand tightly in his own. “Don’t! You’ll regret it!” He pleaded, attempting to get the other to let go of the page before he would be able to try to comfort him.

The expression on Kokichi’s face had changed to one of impatient confusion. His breathing was heavy but his whole being shook, unable to comprehend what was going on. “I don’t …. I don’t …. I just….why is this here? It shouldn’t be here. Kiibo he-” Kokichi let go of the page, allowing Rantaro to take it from him as he swatted his hands away. Kokichi placed a hand on his face, attempting to prevent the tears from coming but to no avail.

Rantaro frowned at the display in front of him. This hadn’t happened in a long time but perhaps it was naive of Rantaro to think that it wouldn’t happen again. He carefully took the book from Kokichi’s lap and closed it, putting it back in the box before he could attempt to damage it again. “It’s ok Kokichi. It’ll be alright,” He spoke softly, combing his fingers through the other’s hair. 

Kokichi immediately stopped crying and stared down at his lap. Rantaro couldn’t see the expression on his face so he didn’t know what was going through the others mind, not that he _ did _know in the first place. Rantaro was about to ask how he was feeling but was startled when Kokichi quickly lifted his head up with a bright smile on his face. “You’re right! When Kiibo gets home, I’ll just ask him why he put that stupid thing in there. It wasn’t even funny, I’m ashamed. What a bad prank.” He sighed, shaking his head and leaning back into the couch.

Rantaro bit his lip and reached a hand out, holding Kokichi’s own hand with his once again**.** “What are you talking about? Kiibo’s not coming home today or tomorrow or ever.” He spoke the words slowly, hoping that it would give the other time to really take them in. To really understand what those words meant.

Kokichi’s expression immediately turned into one of anger and he shoved his hands away once again, lunging forward towards the other and aggressively shoving him against the table. “Shut up! Shut the fuck up! He is coming back! You just don’t get it!” He fumed, his hands shaking against the wad of fabric he had in his grasp. His eyes were watering once again. While the words were aggressive and almost threatening, to Rantaro it looked like Kokichi was trying to convince himself of that. It hurt his heart to see the apparent confusion on his friends face. It hurt to see his friend do this to himself.

“No Kokichi, he isn’t! He’s never coming back!” He yelled back. Rantaro didn’t like to raise his voice at Kokichi. Especially not over something like this, but he had to get through to the other somehow. He would apologize for his behavior later, but not now.

“Shut up! Stop lying! Kiibo just went to the store! He’ll be back!” Kokichi’s breaths started to turn rigid and Rantaro noticed that the other was starting to hyperventilate. He had to get Kokichi to calm down before he did something stupid.

Rantaro grabbed onto Kokichi’s wrists and pulled him off of himself, holding his hands tightly into his so that Kokichi wouldn’t be able to hit him or perhaps do something worse. “Listen to me ! Kiibo isn’t coming back! He’s dead! He killed himself last year! That was his suicide note! He’s not coming back!” He cried out once again, feeling himself start to tear up at the memory. 

-

He’ll never forget how heartbroken him and Shuichi felt when they received a phone call from Kokichi during one of their date nights. He could clearly remember the other screaming and sobbing into the phone. Kokichi wasn’t forming any proper sentences, and it was truly hard to make sense of the few words that he had been saying, but the only words Rantaro had been able to catch were, “Kiibo…..he ...gone...he did it….he’s dead.” Both him and Shuichi had raced over to Kokichi and Kiibo’s house after the male had abruptly hung up on them. Rantaro had never been more grateful that Kiibo had given him a spare key in the past because they had walked on Kokichi seemingly attempting to take his own life as well, though he refused to admit it when they questioned him about it.

He remembered having to hold Kokichi down with Shuichi until he was finally able to calm down and explain what had happened. Kokichi had recounted that he had come home from the store to find a note left for him at the front of the house. He went on to explain that Kiibo had written the note, which would then be dubbed the suicide note, and grew increasingly concerned as he read it. Knowing that Kiibo spent most of his time in his study, Kokichi figured that to be the first place to check. That was where he found the body. 

Kokichi was never truly the same after that incident. He initially blamed himself and insisted that it was his fault that Kiibo committed suicide. No matter how hard he tried to convince not only himself, but everyone of this supposed fact, Rantaro could never see it that way. As far as Rantaro could remember, Kokichi had never once been abusive or acted in any malicious way towards his partner to push him to such extremes. Kiibo also had no history of mental health problems nor had he displayed any signs of them. Truthfully, it was a mystery as to why Kiibo did what he did. The note that was left behind also did not mention any sort of reason for his actions. There was no motive, signs of desperation, or anything at all to indicate that he was going through a hard time. The note itself was just a heartfelt message addressed to Kokichi about how much he loved him and how sorry he was. 

Shuichi had also taken matters into his own hands and investigated in order to rule out the possibility of murder**.** It pained the both of them to see one of their good friends in such a bad place, but they were doing what they could to make sure that Kokichi wasn’t in any imminent danger. Well, he was a danger to himself at the time, but they wanted to make sure that there wasn’t anyone else trying to get Kokichi as well. 

In the end, Kiibo’s death was ruled as suicide. No one had an explanation for what happened. Everyone was shocked that it even happened in the first place. Despite the circumstances, people had a hard time accepting his death. He just looked...so happy.

Kokichi on the other hand, was no longer the happy man he once was. He continued to mourn the loss of his husband but to an unhealthy extent. In order to keep himself happy, he refused to acknowledge Kiibo's death. He even went as far as to avoid going to his funeral altogether, something that Kiibo’s parents greatly detested Kokichi for. He didn’t want to accept it. He had made himself believe that Kiibo had simply gone to the store and would be back soon. Whenever Kokichi made food, he would be sure to serve two plates, always claiming that he didn’t want Kiibo to come home hungry. He still got Kiibo gifts for his birthday, Christmas, and Valentine’s Day. They would be placed in Kiibo’s study. That room had also become off limits to everyone. Kokichi claims to not know why and instead insists that Kiibo wouldn’t want anything to be out of place.

To put it simply, Kokichi was a mess.

-

Kokichi's eyes widened at Rantaro's sudden exclamation. He opened his mouth to say something, but the words wouldn’t come out. Instead, tears began to stream down his face and Kokichi felt himself fall to the ground. Rantaro followed suit as he pulled the other into a tight hug. Kokichi slowly returned the hug, burying his face into his friends shirt.

He mumbled something quietly about wanting to read the note again. Rantaro eyed him suspiciously but reluctantly agreed once Kokichi promised to not rip up the note. His expression looked completely exhausted and worn out as he stared down at the familiar writing that once belonged to his husband. He took in each word carefully, having a hard time processing it as he always did. He bit down on his lip to try and contain the tears that were beginning to well up once again.

_ I don’t know how I’m supposed to be starting this. Really, I don’t. Usually when a couple gets married they suspect to be together forever, right? Make it through any hardship? Avertedly not in our case ...I love you Kokichi, really, I do. You’re the person I love most in the world. The person I would hate to see so sad. The person I would hate to see cry once you finish reading this. I’m scared as well. I’m so scared. I don’t want to die, but I have to. I hope you can understand. Please don’t hate me. I can’t tell you why this is happening. I know I’m supposed to trust you with everything, but this secret dies with me. Just remember that this isn’t your fault, and if there comes a day where you start to move on and gain feelings for someone else ...then by all means go for it. I don’t want to hold you back. I just want you to be happy. That’s all I want. I’m doing this for you. Maybe one day I’ll be able to explain it to you. Unfortunately I need to wrap this up now because you’ll be home from the store soon. I don’t want you to walk in on it. I’m sorry I couldn’t make this note any better. My mind is a mess. Just please don’t hate me Kokichi. I promise that I love you with all my heart. That will always be the truth. _

_ _Kiibo Ouma_ _

“I just want to know why….” Kokichi let out with a shaky breath as he placed the paper back into the scrapbook. “I want to know why. I want to know what happened. I want ...I want to know so badly. He was my husband. I should have noticed if he was depressed or if something was wrong. I want to know if it was my fault. He says it isn’t but what do I have to work with? I don’t know what the truth is but I want to fucking know….so bad…” He choked out, furiously wiping his tears away but being unable to stop them from coming back. Kokichi breathed out a heavy sigh, the sight of the scrapbook beginning to infuriate him. It was almost as if the book was taunting him of what he had lost. “But he’s gone, and I’ll never know. I’ll never know what the fuck happened that day.” He shut the book once again and threw it onto the floor, feeling himself become fed up with it once again. 

Rantaro sighed as he pulled the other into his embrace, allowing him to cry his heart out. What could he have said? He couldn’t tell Kokichi that it wasn’t his fault because he honestly didn’t know either. He was just as curious as Kokichi. He wanted there to be closure as well, but unfortunately this was all a mystery and would forever be one.

After a couple of minutes, Kokichi was able to calm down and stop the stream of tears. It really wasn’t a surprise that he didn’t spend that long crying. He spent practically each and every day mourning the death of his husband one way or another**. **Rantaro and Shuichi had been concerned about Kokichi for a while which is why Rantaro had volunteered to help the other clean his home in the first place. Shuichi had asked him to try and get a good idea of where Kokichi was mentally. Rantaro had always had a pretty good hunch that Kokichi was still in a bad place, but he never would have imagined that it would still be to this extent. Given the current situation, he didn’t trust Kokichi by himself anymore. He didn’t want to. How could he possibly expect his friend to get better if he was constantly plagued with memories of the past?

“Hey, how about you come over to Shuichi and I’s place and we all hang out like we did in high school?” He suggested, offering the other a small smile. Even if he said no, Rantaro would force him to come with. He didn’t trust him. There was no way.

Much to his surprise, Kokichi nodded in agreement. “Yeah let’s just go already...I don’t want to think about this…” He mumbled, getting up slowly and walking towards the door, tripping every so often since he wasn’t bothering to wipe the tears out of his eyes anymore.

Rantaro sighed but took out his phone to send a quick text to Shuichi, letting him know that he was coming over with Kokichi. 

However, there was something in the case that no one had noticed. There was a major clue in the whole ordeal that would have explained it all. The smallest thing that had been overlooked was what caused the correct verdict, also known as Shuichi’s original speculation, to be filed as suicide, and the overlook happened with the note.

**Author's Note:**

> My friends would never forgive me if I took out classic lines such as 'hey shorty' and 'no Rantarhoe' which is why I kept them in this version, but you best believe....I wouldn't have.


End file.
